Economy

After several decades of kinder, gentler compliance-focused assessments, Customs & Border Protection’s Office of Regulatory Audit still retains a “gotcha” import audit approach reminiscent of the 1980s and early 1990s in its enforcement arsenal. And, according to Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg sources, all importers—especially small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs)—are cautioned to prepare for what is […]

Even after the November 2012 election results were known, non-US-based companies looked forward to investing capital in U.S. facilities in 2013. And they did just that. This sentiment certainly was not shared by U.S. investors. Thus, a Site Selection survey of American corporate real estate executives was overwhelmingly pessimistic about a second Obama term.

SPECIAL REPORT—Americans currently pay high taxes on food, clothing, automobiles, industrial inputs and other goods and services, and their own United States Trade Representative is vigorously fighting other countries to keep it that way. Even worse, the government’s efforts all but ensure that removing such taxes — and easing the artificial burdens they place on […]

I run a successful manufacturing and export business. My success depends on our ability to accurately cost the materials and services we consume. If my estimates are wrong, I won’t stay in business very long. Our government has no such apparent obligation. Our tax dollars are being wasted on projects that are so out of sync […]

Since taking over as president on a permanent basis in 2008, Raúl Castro has undertaken a self-described effort to “save” Cuba’s socialist system by introducing various market reforms. To date, that program has included the establishment of non-agricultural cooperatives, the legalization of private farms and small businesses, the recognition of private ownership of homes (and […]

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the LDP were returned to power in late 2012, the victory was attributed less to enthusiasm for the winners than to frustration with the incumbent DPJ. However, the LDP’s comeback was completed at upper-house elections held in July 2013, at which voters registered a clear vote of confidence in […]

The continued dominance of the ruling United Russia party was confirmed yet again at regional and local elections held on September 8. The opposition made a strong enough showing in major cities to suggest that President Vladimir Putin and his allies cannot take victory for granted in urban areas, but elsewhere, United Russia’s position appears […]

When President Barack Obama nominated Federal Reserve vice chairman Janet Yellen to take over as Fed chairman after Ben Bernanke departs in January, the markets purred a sigh of relief. The Fed’s adherence to ultra-low interest rates and quantitative easing to boost risk taking and asset prices is now expected to continue for at least...

Since the global recession began in 2008, Europe has struggled. For example, last year the European Union (EU) which is comprised of 27 countries with a consumer base of approximately 500 million, registered -0.2 percent growth. Although its economy has improved, it remains vulnerable. Nonetheless, there is a considerable upside not reflected in these figures...

<p>The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executives, recently proposed that the United States is the world&#8217;s innovation leader because of a commitment to basic research, a world-class workforce and a climate that rewards innovation. This sense of pride has been eclipsed by a feeling of economic pessimism manifesting itself in a perceived lack of [&hellip;]</p>

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s minority coalition government is under pressure to restore public and investor confidence, as concerns surrounding the slowing pace of growth have more recently been compounded by the rupee’s alarming depreciation. A general election is required no later than the second quarter of 2014, and the latest opinion polls signal an abrupt [&hellip;]

<p>A recent Associated Press story, which stopped me in my tracks, said the gap in employment rates between America&#8217;s highest- and lowest-income families has stretched to its widest levels since officials began tracking the data a decade ago. Rates of unemployment for the lowest-income families — those earning less than $20,000 — have topped 21 [&hellip;]</p>

<p>In business, as in life, short-term thinking never works for very long. Many leaders are content to look only at what is immediately in front of them. While it may be tempting to behave this way in an increasingly complex and interdependent world, such narrow, near-sighted leadership hardly serves the organizations and systems we are [&hellip;]</p>

<p>President Obama received much criticism during the 2012 campaign for his remark, “You didn’t build that.” Although he uncharacteristically said it in a fairly clumsy way, what he meant was that for every proud self-made entrepreneur there is a huge web of supporting institutions and infrastructure built by the government.</p>

The average home price in 20 major cities rose 12.1 percent over a 12 month period ending in June, according to the S&amp;P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, a leading measure of the U.S. real estate industry. But this trend may be coming to an end as the increase in home prices appears be slowing partly due [&hellip;]

Reacting to the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, which portended a further implosion of banking, The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) was enacted in 2010. As this financial catastrophe reaches its third anniversary, a recent bipartisan panel from the American Enterprise Institute characterized the Dodd-Frank Act for what it is...

In July, the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers, was essentially unchanged at 8.2 million. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. Contrast this to 2004 when The Heritage...

SPECIAL REPORT — The Syrian civil war appears to have at least temporarily reached a point of stalemate, with neither rebel forces nor the military and allied militias capable of making a decisive push for territory that could potentially turn the tide for either side. The offensive launched by the fractious rebel camp in late [&hellip;]

SPECIAL REPORT—Emerging markets continue to grow considerably faster than the United States. And Developing Asia’s economic growth is stronger than other regions. In fact, it is anticipated to achieve a GDP growth rate of 7.1 percent this year and 7.7 percent by 2018, according to IMF data. Much of Developing Asia’s relatively strong performance today...

Monthly U.S. headlines trumpeting the death of inflation hide a painful truth for American families: rapidly rising food prices. News reports rarely mention this pain because economists’ preferred inflation metric, so-called “core CPI,” omits both food and energy due to concerns about their volatility. Although this omission might make sense from a purely economic perspective, [&hellip;]